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Man, 39, to face murder charge

He shot his girlfriend as she was moving out of the apartment they shared, police say.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 1, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Police on Monday issued a warrant for the arrest of a St. Petersburg man in the shooting death of his 27-year-old girlfriend.

Troy A. Sierra, 39, fired three shots at Kelly D. Burgess, striking her twice in the head, detectives said.

Police would not speculate on a motive, though they did say the victim was in the process of moving out of the north St. Petersburg apartment the couple shared.

Sierra, who is in an Orange County jail on cocaine possession charges, will be brought back to face a murder charge in the next week.

It took police more than a day to realize a crime had been committed, even though they received a report of the shooting almost immediately.

Police were called to the Promenade apartment complex at 540 Carillon Parkway N late Friday morning after someone heard gunshots.

Anthony Bodtmann, 42, was house-sitting for his sister-in-law, who lives below the apartment where Burgess was found. He said he heard a first shot just after 11:30 a.m., followed by moaning sounds and talking.

There was then a second shot and a third about 15 seconds later, he said.

"I was terrified," Bodtmann said. "I grew up around guns, and I knew what it was."

An officer stopped by the apartment to speak to Bodtmann, before knocking on Sierra's door and the door across the hall, police said.

No one answered Sierra's door and the person across the hall didn't hear any gunshots. Police then left the scene.

They did not return until 6 p.m. Saturday, when Bodtmann's sister-in-law called police about a car parked suspiciously in the complex.

Police responded and determined the car belonged to Burgess. They found her body inside Sierra's apartment.

Assistant Chief Cedric Gordon said Monday that the department has launched an internal investigation to see if the situation was handled properly.

The officer who responded to the initial call, 24-year veteran Kenneth Kokotek, has not been placed on administrative leave, Gordon said.

Officers have the ability to enter a residence without permission if they feel they need to, Gordon said.

"Right now, we're in the process of doing an internal investigation regarding the officer's actions to see if they did everything appropriate and reasonable to check on the status of the victims," Gordon said.

[Last modified December 31, 2007, 22:12:46]